Another nail-biter that came down to an opponent’s long field-goal try at the end.

Once again, the Texans emerged with a victory — their seventh in a row — after Sunday’s squeaker at Washington.

Here’s a look at the good bad and ugly from Texans 23, Washington 21:

The good

1. Cushion atop AFC South. The Texans opened up a two-game lead over Tennessee and Indianapolis – which whipped the Titans on Sunday. That makes next week’s Monday Night Football showdown against Tennessee a chance to put the Titans away.

2. Making history. The Texans tied the 1925 New York Giants as the only NFL teams to win seven straight games after starting 0-3. No matter the manner in which they’ve won some of these games, that’s a remarkable feat.

3. Clutch Kai’mi Fairbairn. An offense that had issues scoring touchdowns Sunday put Fairbairn in the tough spot of having to make a 54-yard field goal on the road to put the Texans ahead midway through the fourth quarter. He delivered. That make overshadowed his misses at the end of the first half and during the game’s final minute that would’ve forced Washington to need a touchdown on its final drive.

4. Colt McCoy. The Washington backup and former University of Texas star finished off one touchdown drive and led the go-ahead TD drive (amazingly, the first lead change in any Washington game this season). And he almost put his team in range to win the game at the end. Not bad for a guy who hadn’t played since the 2015 season.

5. Keke Coutee’s return. The rookie wideout, who’s battled injury issues since the offseason, had five catches for a team-high 77 yards. Now if the Texans can find a way to keep him healthy for the stretch run.

6. Justin Reid, big-play man. His 101-yard interception return for a touchdown changed the game's momentum late in the first half and proved huge on a day when the Texans' offense sputtered (more on that below).

1. Offensive line woes. Injuries to starting guards Zach Fulton and Senio Kelemete left the Texans’ offensive line in rough straits and Deshaun Watson was sacked three times and hit another four times while being harried on a few other instances. The Texans will need them to return to health ASAP.

2. Texans’ turnovers. They’d gone three games without a turnover and really, Sunday’s giveaways were the only reason this game was close. Deshaun Watson threw a terrible floater in the middle of the field that was tipped and intercepted. His second interception came off a tremendous play by defensive lineman Preston Smith on a screen pass that probably never should’ve been thrown. The Texans’ other turnover was a DeAndre Hopkins “fumble” that was a curious call by the officials and upheld following an inconclusive replay.

3. Conservative offense. The Texans’ tendency to go conservative on offense can be maddening. No sequence illustrated that more than the end of the first half, when a Brennan Scarlett interception deep in Washington territory provided a chance to add to a 10-point lead. There was no immediate shot to the end zone. Instead, it was a sack, a dump-off on second down and then the predictable run on third and long to set up a missed field goal. Why not take a shot at putting Washington in a deep hole there?

4. Offensive inefficiency. The Texans were 1-for-3 in the red zone and only mustered one offensive touchdown on the day. That was somehow enough to cut it Sunday but obviously won’t do when they have to play better teams (and offenses than Washington’s) come the postseason.

5. Demaryius Thomas’ use. His name wasn’t mentioned on the game telecast after the starting lineups were introduced until he was targeted on a fourth-quarter incompletion. After an open date to better accommodate him into the offense, why wasn’t the veteran wideout used more?

6. Vernon Davis’ hands. Washington’s veteran tight end had a brutal drop on what would’ve been a big gain off a wheel route during the first half. In a game as close as Sunday’s, that proved to be a killer.

The ugly

1. Alex Smith’s injury. He broke his right tibia and fibula while being sacked by Kareem Jackson and J.J. Watt. Smith was carted off and the replay was gruesome enough to where CBS didn’t show it again. And in an eerie sidenote, the horrific injury when then-Washington QB Joe Theismann had his leg snapped on a Lawrence Taylor sack on Monday Night Football happened exactly 33 years ago Sunday. Good thing for Smith that he got $71 million guaranteed in a new contract after being traded to Washington last offseason.

Greg Rajan is the senior editor for Texas Sports Nation, the Houston Chronicle's premium sports website. He joined the Chronicle in January 2015 as the online sports editor. He previously worked as the sports editor at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He led that sports section to three Associated Press Sports Editors top-10 national awards. He also has worked at the Austin American-Statesman and Temple Daily Telegram.

He is a graduate of Southwest Texas State University and Bowie High School in Austin.